With the annual legislative session nearing, lawmakers and education leaders likely will have to grapple with the fallout of Hurricane Michael on Northwest Florida school districts and continued questions about how to bolster school safety throughout the state.

A fiercely divided Florida Supreme Court on Friday rejected a nearly decade-long lawsuit that challenged whether the state has properly carried out a 1998 constitutional amendment that called for ensuring a “high quality” system of public schools.

More than a year after sexual-harassment allegations brought down a powerful lawmaker, the Florida Senate has reached a $900,000 settlement with a legislative aide who said she was harassed and later faced retaliation.

Amid continuing political and legal battles about the insurance practice known as “assignment of benefits,” the Florida Supreme Court has agreed to take up a closely watched case stemming from water damage to a St. Lucie County home.

Defending a 2017 law that set regulations for the state’s medical-marijuana industry, Florida Department of Health attorneys have asked an appeals court to overturn a circuit judge’s ruling that they say “injected confusion and uncertainty” into the licensing of marijuana firms.

Describing the case as “specious, legally and factually baseless,” Florida Power & Light has asked state regulators to reject a petition that seeks to force the utility to refund as much as $736 million to customers and reduce base electric rates.

After losing an earlier challenge, Volusia County has filed a lawsuit seeking to be shielded from a newly approved constitutional amendment that deals with sheriffs and other types of county officials across the state.

With little more than three weeks before he takes office, Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis on Monday proposed bringing back a state-government veteran to run the Florida Department of Revenue --- while a transition committee continued delving into environmental and land issues.